Gracious Words

In Luke Chapter 4 verse 22 it says, "And all spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from His mouth..." (talking about Jesus teaching in the synagogue) then in Col. 4 verse 6 Paul tells us, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each person."  
The reason that I noticed a connection is because in BSF last week, we were supposed to read Luke 4:14-21 to see the connection to Isaiah 50:4-5.  Being the rebel that I am I almost always read the verses before and after.  Well, look at Luke 4:22  gracious words were coming out of His mouth,  remember the gracious words part for just a minute, hang on to that.  Then in my devotional guide, which was turned to the wrong page...story of my life... the title for tomorrow (my birthday) is "Lively and Gracious Speech" and the verse is Colossians 4:6.  This is no coincidence.  God is showing me something.  Gracious Words!  What were the words of Christ that were described as gracious? Let's look at Luke 4:  18-19, 21,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
dto set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus was reading from Isaiah, which happens to be the book I am studying in the Bible Study I go today on Wednesday mornings (today).   Funny how God pulls things together, because,
then Paul says, we are to speak "gracious words." And words with "salt," as my friend and I were eating lunch together today we kept discussing that the fries needed more salt. Salt makes things tasty, brings out their natural flavors.  Well, I can't make the same claim as Christ, that I am fulfilling prophecy.  However, I was surprised at how much of the Bible Study this week had to do with words, the speaking kind.  I hadn't focused on it when I was studying at home, but in the discussion today a couple of people mentioned something about words, I don't think they realized what connections God was making for me.  Words have power.  God created words.  He expects them to be used to bring Him glory.  So, how can I do that?  How can I speak in such a way as to bring God glory, in my everyday conversations?  One of the things BSF (the Bible Study I attend) does is it doesn't really allow time to just "chat."  The conversations are always directed not specifically, but in a way that allows people to share what God is doing in them.  There is always a question to be answered or a "What was your favorite verse from the last few chapters?" kind of thing to be discussed.  At first I thought it was weird, kind of a pain, awkward.  Now, I really appreciate the steering and find that I do it on my own in conversations with friends.  I don't go around announcing, "I am steering this conversation by asking you a question about God?" It allows you to walk away from a conversation feeling uplifted instead of negative.  I find that as I focus on God and listen to Him, it comes more naturally.
How can I speak "gracious words?"  What does "gracious" mean exactly?  According to Merriam-Webster, gracious can mean godly, merciful, compassionate.  Also it can mean, marked by tact, characterized by charm, good taste.
In Isaiah 50:4 we are told to listen, spend time with God so we can sustain those who are weary with a ...WORD.  In John 12, Jesus says that God tells Him what to say.  In Isaiah 51:16 God says, He has put His words in our mouths.  God has a lot to say about our words.  I keep a little index card in my Bible with verses relating to our tongue and our words.  Now it has grown to three cards, just references are on them.  That is a lot of verses.  Repeatedly, In Isaiah, God tells us what to say, what we are to talk about.  Check out Isaiah 12:4, Isaiah 35:4. In those verses, God gives very specific things to be said.  You know what we are to talk about?  It is Him!  His Deeds!  His Son!  His Words!